Investors hammered Amazon over it's underwhelming second-quarter results. That's no biggie for the online retailer, though. When it comes to e-books, despite rising competition, Amazon remains top dog, and it looks very likely to stay that way.

Beleaguered book retailer Borders (BGP) needs every drop of capital it can get in order to stay competitive with the likes of Barnes & Noble (BKS) and Amazon (AMZN). One way it's doing so is through a startling, but not surprising development: selling its London-based Paperchase stationery, cards and gift unit for $31 million to Primary Capital, a UK-based private equity firm, in a bid to reduce its debt.

Thanks to a $25 million stock purchase by financier Bennett LeBow, book retailer Borders has itself a brand new boss. If you're one of the company's stockholders, you might want to consider LeBow's past before planning for the future.

Bennett LeBow, financier and chief of tobacco company Vector Group, will become Borders' chairman and biggest shareholder with his $25 million investment in the struggling bookseller. The deal needs shareholder approval, and it's likely to get the nod.

Troubled book retailer Borders (BGP) conjured up quite the Hail Mary pass just hours before a critical deadline to repay an outstanding loan from its primary stakeholder, Pershing Square Capital Management. Not only did it repay the $42.5 million loan, the company has also entered into an amended and restated revolving credit agreement for $700 million which expires in 2014 -- replacing the previous $360 million revolving credit deal backed by Bank of America (BAC) that was set to expire in July 2011.

April Fools' Day may not be so much fun for Borders. The embattled bookseller faces a $42 million payment to its largest investor, Pershing Square Capital, even as it deals with management upheaval, crushing lease agreements and a flagging stock.